More than 350 BBCC students earned their degree and graduated at the end of spring quarter. Commencement was held Friday, June 9 at the DeVries Activity Center.
BBCC President Bill Bonaudi addressed the graduates, commending them on their personal achievement.
"Our celebration tonight is about the combined efforts of many people achieving a common goal;" Bonaudi said. "BBCC is not bricks and mortar, rather it is people. This includes you, our students, and the residents of the district, all of our agency and business partners and of course our staff. Your degree is a result of these combined efforts and a symbol of your personal achievement."
Retiring BBCC Math Instructor Anita Hughes was presented with a plaque recognizing her status as Faculty Emeritus. Hughes retired after 22 years of service to BBCC.
The commencement address was delivered by Dr. Vince Bryan, owner of Cave B Winery and the Cave B Inn and Spa. His speech is included below:
It is a distinct privilege for me to have the opportunity to be with you and to talk to you on this graduation day. Thank you.
Today we have come to celebrate the joy of your new found knowledge and skills. I am very happy for you and for your families. I am also very happy for all of us everywhere, for we all will be the beneficiaries of what you have learned. Now you have the tools and have found the way to bring your dreams to life. We, your family, your friends, and the world of people who will come to know you indirectly through the results of your future work, look forward with much pleasure and anticipation to the better world you will make for us and for your children.
I am told that a primary responsibility of a commencement speaker is to inspire the graduates. Well, after spending some time on campus last week, dropping in and out of class rooms, speaking with some of you about why you decided to go to college and Big Bend in particular, observing the manner in which you went about your days activities and seeing the expressions on your faces, it was clear that you were inspired long before this graduation day. Inspired for a lot of different reasons; for some a better life for one’s self and family, for others a thirst to know more, to bring pride and joy to ones parents, to satisfy a longing to be able to do more and to do it better than one could do before, to be able to help people and for a host of other reasons. And so as your commencement speaker I would like to say that it is you, the graduating class of Big Bend Community College that has inspired me. Congratulations for a job well done and the best of luck as you continue onward with your studies or put them to work at this time.
You are about to enter a world at the most exciting, wonderful and challenging time in its history, a time when men and women have become aware of their environment and increasingly of their place in it. A time when you will begin to explore the outer fringes of the universe while at the same time exploring the possibilities afforded by the unlocking of the human genome and the advancement of nanotechnology. A time when you will reckon with the reality that we share this planet with the physical environment which surrounds us, that we are married to it if you will, and as such require the love, honor and respect of each other as we fly through time and space together forever. A time when those on distant shores are now our neighbors, a time when global communication and information is but a second away, available to all and at our fingertips whenever we choose to have it. A time when your faith, your values, your principles and your ethics will be challenged daily and where each and every one of you will be called upon more than ever to lay down your prejudices, to listen and hear with an open mind, to seek the truth, to speak your own thoughts with conviction, and to find new and better ways to peacefully solve problems amongst humankind. A time when the dreams and the creative genius of mankind must be advanced by those in the disciplines of the arts and sciences, seeking to explain the gap between mankind’s dreams and the environment. A time when we must learn to collaborate for the good of the whole of humanity before advancing our individual agendas.
I would like to tell you of some fundamental concepts which have enriched my life and might be worth passing on, though I would suspect for many here these are well appreciated in your own lives already: be curious about virtually everything, never say no to an opportunity to experience something new, stopping short of doing something stupid, look forward to change in a world where everything does change, see failure as an opportunity, think out of the box, stay in touch with what’s happening in the world because it matters, strive to understand the big picture rather than reacting to that moment’s crisis, master your life’s work before trying to change it, but then do so and make it better, thrill with the diversity in others and stay broadly based in your own interests and skill sets, enjoy every moment of every day whether its work or play, allow the process of accomplishing a goal to be enjoyed as much or moreso than actually achieving it, have a firm belief in your ability to accomplish your goal and a willingness to give it what it takes until its been accomplished, engage, enjoy and admire people of every socio-economic status and culture, color and religion for each has a lot to give, look to nature to understand how to adapt harmoniously, seek out people who feel free enough to openly constructively criticize you, your work and your beliefs, as much is to be learned from the challenge, bring art and beauty to your work no matter how repetitive or menial the activity may seem, love fully and completely and allow yourself to be loved, keep your ideals and spiritual life alive throughout life, don’t be greedy, nothing stops progress faster, understand the privilege of being asked to do something for somebody and the responsibility that goes with it, be good at what you do for others and do it better each time you do it for you are a professional now and that’s what being a professional means, surround yourself with good people who are the best at what they do and bring, and, most important of all, family first, no matter what may compete for the time.
For just a moment I would like to talk to you about dreams. In my own life, adulthood has provided the opportunity to bring to reality dreams which have been a part of my being since childhood. Don Quixote in the play The Man from La Mancha, is described as having dared to Dream the Impossible Dream. My fellow students, I don’t believe there are impossible dreams. Hanging on the wall in our bathroom at home is a small framed picture of a young boy with a yearnful expression on his face, wearing oversized boxing gloves looking high overhead at a punching bag far out of his reach. The caption at the bottom reads, “If you can dream it you can do it!” This I believe. And further, I believe this is true of all people given half a chance and clearly all you graduating today have that chance, if you can dream it you can do it. So remember to take time out to recall your dreams of the past and those yet to come for that’s where your personal creativity begins and remember that none of those dreams, no matter what they may be, are impossible dreams if you so choose. But don’t expect it to be easy. Don’t expect it to be risk-free. Unlike the dream, bringing the dream to life doesn’t just happen. You’re likely going to have to give it more effort than anything you’ve ever done, day after day, year after year. Two steps forward often intermixed with 1 step backwards.
And so, always believe that what’s been dreamed of is worth doing, that it can be done, that there is a way. That the time, the talent and the money can be found and for now it’s up to you to make that happen, to bring together that group which together with your vision and leadership can breathe life into the dream. That you will share your knowledge and ideas freely. That you will acknowledge your coworkers accomplishments in word and compensation and place their wellbeing in front of your own. That you will value an individuals experience as much as an individual’s formal education. That you will lead by example, remain on the cutting edge of new thinking and technologies, that you will not take short cuts which compromise quality or your personal ethics. That you will not forget the value of commonsense. That you take advantage of peoples knowledge and practices outside of your own discipline, lest you get tied up in the limitations of your same old way of thinking and doing. That you will take the time to laugh and to celebrate whenever possible along the way.
My dreams as a kid have led me down paths, at first glance, seemingly unrelated, as dreams tend to be. I dreamed of great adventures, of boats of sailing across oceans, of beautiful music and places far away. I dreamed of great people and characters from George Washington to Donald Duck. I dreamed about what my Dad said, that in America, I could be President some day. I dreamed of a happy family and good times of being like my Dad and Mom. I dreamed about how good it felt to have a Mom who had had hand made Mrs. Roosevelt’s inauguration dress and a Dad who would graduate from college after 12 years of night school. I dreamed about the stars and the planets and how little I was by comparison. I dreamed about rockets. I dreamed of doing well in school, of making my parents proud. I dreamed about speaking in front of the class without shaking. I dreamed about doing fun things with my friends. I dreamed about some of my friends getting into trouble with the police. I dreamed about the gang fights on the corner across the street and wondered why. I dreamed about God. I dreamed about helping people. I dreamed about growing a garden in the cheese box on the windowsill. I dreamed of what my Italian grandfather meant when he spoke of his dinner wine as red milk. I dreamed about what the garbage collector did with the things he found and kept when emptying each morning into his garbage truck, the garbage barrels lined up on the curb in front of our apartment building in Brooklyn. I dreamed about the subway as it screeched through the tunnels under the city at high speed. I also dreamed about baseball and Ebbet’s field where the Dodgers played back then.
Well, its hard to say for sure just how those dreams resulted in a wonderful marriage, 4 great kids, special friends, crossing oceans in sailboats, medical school, neurosurgery, vineyards and wineries, amphitheatres and rock and roll, artificial spinal discs, teaching, living and operating in countries around the world, building hotels and restaurants and now a most special project called SageCliff, but one thing I’m sure of, without the dreams little would have happened.
Now it’s your turn. It’s your time to let your dreams define who you are, what you can do, what you believe, your place in history. To all who have nurtured you for so long, be the best that you can be. This world needs you so much. Set the bar higher than ever before in all that you do every step of your way. Never stop learning and never stop teaching. In your journey to make things better, consider the environment, the arts and the sciences and all of humankind in each of your decisions. After all, we’re really one big family.
And so, as all of you who comprise this very special 2007 graduating class close the cover on this your college dream, congratulations! Now as you move forward into your next chapter, remember, “If you can dream it, you can do it!”
Good luck and have fun.